IIDA C

AREER BOOTC

AMP™

ADVICE F

ROM OUR PA

NEL O

F EM

ERGIN

G PROFE

SSIO

NALS

IIDA EMERGING PROFESSIONALS2011 PANELISTS

STEPHANIE BRYANTAssoc. IIDA

TRINA ALSIPAssoc. IIDA

LYNETTE KLEINAssoc. IIDA

MAGDELINE OLDMIXONAssoc. IIDA

MICHELLE KRAKER,MODERATOR

LESSONS &

ADVIC

E

FROM P

ROFESSIO

NALS &

RECENT

GRADUATES T

HAT H

AVE B

EEN

THERE, D

ONE THAT

BE CONFIDENT & ENTHUSIASTIC…THE JOB MARKET MAY BE BLEAK, BUT DON’T BRING THAT ATTITUDE INTO YOUR INTERVIEW.

AVOID NEGATIVITY.

MENTORS MAKE A DIFFERENCE…AND ARE SURPRISINGLY EASY TO FIND, YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK.

YOU WILL END UP HAVING MANY DIFFERENT MENTORS FOR EACH STAGE IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE.

“NOTH

ING G

REAT

WAS

EVER

ACHIEVED

WIT

HOUT

ENTH

USIASM

.”

EMER

SON 

REHEARSE PRESENTING YOUR PORTFOLIO…EMPLOYERS WILL WANT TO HEAR YOU SPEAK ABOUT YOUR DESIGN DECISIONS.

SO SPEAK PROFESSIONALLY AND REHEARSE BEFOREHAND.

INTERIORS PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE IS KEY…MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME BETWEEN JOB SEARCHES BY RESEARCHING AND STAYING CURRENT WITH THE LATEST AND GREATEST PRODUCTS.

MAKE IT A POINT TO UTILIZE YOUR LOCAL DESIGN RESOURCES AND INTERACT WITH THE LOCAL DESIGN COMMUNITY.

“SUCCES

S IS

THE

SUM O

F

SMALL

EFF

ORTS R

EPEA

TED

DAY IN

AND D

AY OUT.”

R. COLL

IER 

HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA…SOCIAL MEDIA CAN EITHER HELP OR HURT YOUR CHANCES. LEARN TO USE TWITTER TO INTERACT WITH COMPANIES.

BECOME SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY AND USE IT TO FIND YOUR NEXT JOB. EDIT YOUR CURRENT PAGES FOR APPROPRIATE CONTENT.

START A WEBSITE…SHOWCASE YOUR PORTFOLIO, BLOG ABOUT YOUR INTERESTS, BE TRANSPARENT, SHOW PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE UNIQUE & INTERESTING.

BECAUSE YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST A RESUME. TRY BLOGGER.COM, WORDPRESS.COM, WIX.COM OR FLAVORS.ME

“WE

ARE W

HAT W

E

REPEA

TEDLY

DO.

EXCEL

LENCE

IS N

OT AN A

CT,

BUT A H

ABIT.”

ARISTO

TLE

START WITH A GREAT COVER LETTER…BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER SEE YOUR RESUME IF THEY DON’T LIKE YOUR COVER LETTER.

IF YOU ARE BLINDLY APPLYING FOR JOBS, YOUR COVER LETTER IS THE ONLY CHANCE YOU HAVE TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD.

UNPAID INTERNSHIPS PAY OFF…PAID OR UNPAID, EXPERIENCE IS KEY. YOU GAIN CONTACTS, MAKE FRIENDS & INCREASE CHANCES OF GETTING HIRED LATER.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT. COLD CALL, REQUEST APPOINTMENTS AND PARTICIPATE IN IIDA EVENTS SUCH AS STUDENT MENTORING WEEK!

“THE

GREATE

ST RES

ULTS IN

LIFE

ARE AT

TAIN

ED B

Y

COMMON SEN

SE AND

PERSEV

ERANCE.

”

O.FEL

THAM

JOIN AN ASSOCIATION…MAKE THE INDUSTRY FEEL SMALLER, STRETCH YOUR NETWORK AND GET INVITED TO INDUSTRY EVENTS.

JOIN IIDA AND GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR LOCAL CHAPTER. LEARN MORE AT WWW.IIDA.ORG

FOLL

OW U

S ON T

WIT

TER

@IID

ANEXTGEN

& ON FA

CEBOOK AT

FACEBOOK.C

OM/IIDANEXTG

EN

SEEK O

UT & E

NGAGE W

ITH O

THER

INTE

RESTE

D FUTU

RE

DESIG

N LEA

DERS